In high-rise towers, such as apartments houses, office buildings, etc., where the entryway or lobby is unmanned all or part of the time, and where there are large numbers of people entering and exiting the building, the cylinders are subjected to a great deal of abuse under normal conditions of wear and tear and, unfortunately, as a concomitant of the modern era, are also subject to the depredations of vandals.
As a consequence of such abuse, locking cylinders are often damaged and require removal and replacement with the attendant high costs of securing locksmithing services. Further, until the arrival of the locksmith, there may be a considerable downtime during which a building's door locking system is inoperative and its occupants and their possessions are prey to intruders.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a locking cylinder which when damaged can be removed and replaced quickly and readily by the custodial personnel of a building, without the need of professional locksmiths, in a rapid and efficient manner without undue downtime, while avoiding the need to remove the escutcheon plates on the door.
It is another object of the present invention to completely cover the locking cylinder with a free-spinning protective device to prevent damage to the locking cylinder by the use of a drill or a wrench, or other implements designed to vandalize a locking cylinder.